Mach4
Member
In working with the WWII era 50cal machine gun shells and bullets that I was able to procure, I decided to try something a bit out of the ordinary….that's right, a flip fountain pen.
Working with the armor piercing shells to make a flip pen took quite a bit of research and experimentation, but I got it to work - See here. So I set out to make a fountain pen version.
I started with a Jinhao fountain pen.
I just needed the nib from this pen. I measured the threads as 9mmx1.0 and drilled and tapped a piece of 1/2" aluminum rod for the nib. Alas, it didn't fit. It appears the the threads are not full height, so I took a slightly larger drill and essentially knocked the tops off the threads and it worked. I cut the piece to length and through drilled it for the ink cartridge. I then turned the end to fit the drilled out bullet to be glued in place. I drilled the bullet for clearance for the extended ink cartridge that extended into the bullet.
I then designed and 3D printed an insert for the shell to act like a cap on a traditional pen to minimize the air to keep the ink from drying out. The sleeve also serves to prevent to nib from contacting the bottom of the shell case and keeps the pen secure when not being used (much like the rubber O-ring on the flip pen kits.
Here is the finished pen fully assembled.
This particular shell came from the Salt Lake City munitions factory in 1943 and, along with the bullet, was recovered from the gunnery training range in the Nevada desert. (Note the rifling on the bullet) In processing the shells I try to retain as much of the natural patina as possible while providing a smooth, polished surface for the pen.
Working with the armor piercing shells to make a flip pen took quite a bit of research and experimentation, but I got it to work - See here. So I set out to make a fountain pen version.
I started with a Jinhao fountain pen.
I just needed the nib from this pen. I measured the threads as 9mmx1.0 and drilled and tapped a piece of 1/2" aluminum rod for the nib. Alas, it didn't fit. It appears the the threads are not full height, so I took a slightly larger drill and essentially knocked the tops off the threads and it worked. I cut the piece to length and through drilled it for the ink cartridge. I then turned the end to fit the drilled out bullet to be glued in place. I drilled the bullet for clearance for the extended ink cartridge that extended into the bullet.
I then designed and 3D printed an insert for the shell to act like a cap on a traditional pen to minimize the air to keep the ink from drying out. The sleeve also serves to prevent to nib from contacting the bottom of the shell case and keeps the pen secure when not being used (much like the rubber O-ring on the flip pen kits.
Here is the finished pen fully assembled.
This particular shell came from the Salt Lake City munitions factory in 1943 and, along with the bullet, was recovered from the gunnery training range in the Nevada desert. (Note the rifling on the bullet) In processing the shells I try to retain as much of the natural patina as possible while providing a smooth, polished surface for the pen.
